Herne
Daddy was taking Sarah
to the park.
That was Sarah's favorite place to go in the whole world.
Outside was the place where Sarah felt the best.
Her imagination was full of outside. Sometimes, she would pretend
that she was a great explorer. At others, a pioneer, or a person
who studied animals.
Sarah loved animals. She had a cat as a pet, several birds in the
trees outside her window that would wake her in the morning, and
a spider in the corner of her room that dept the other bugs away.
The squirrels in the trees were especially playful today. They
were running around in the trees chasing each other, chattering
and grabbing nuts from the ground.
Sarah thought they were gathering food for the winter.
There were other children there, two boys and three girls.
Sarah enjoyed playing with all of them. There was even one boy
that Sarah knew from the Circles she attended. His name was
Keith. His Mommy was the only grown-up in his house. His daddy
did not live with them anymore. Keith did not talk about his
daddy, but it seemed to Sarah that his daddy was a mean man.
Her Daddy took good care of her, fixing meals, helping her take a
bath, tucking her in at night, and rocking her while he read a
story. He was a nice man, and Sarah loved him very much.
That night, they went to the Autumn Equinox Sabbat with the rest
of the Coven.
Daddy got to play a part in the ceremony that night. He was the
person who made sure that there was always incense burning on the
Altar.
Sarah was very proud of him.
Later Sarah decided to dream about Rhiannon, to talk to her about
why Keith didn't have a daddy who lived with him.
When Sarah woke, she was outside with the Green Lady. Someone
else was with Rhiannon.
Sarah could see that it was a man. He had muscles all over his
body, just like a super hero. He carried a spear and was wearing
a rug for clothes and a horn on his belt. He also had two deer
horns growing out of his head.
He looked scary. Sarah didn't know if he was smiling or frowning
because of the beard and mustache he wore.
Sarah looked at Rhiannon. Rhiannon said, "Sarah, I would like you
to meet my husband, Herne."
Herne said, "Hello Sarah."
His voice was deep and full. It sounded like the thunder growling
in the distance. Strangely enough, it made Sarah feel comfortable
and safe. He sounded just like a rumbly teddy bear.
Sarah said, "Hello Herne."
Rhiannon looked at both of them and got up. "I think I will leave
you two to get to know each other." She kissed Herne, and then
Sarah. "I will come again when you need me."
With that, Rhiannon left.
Herne sat down near Sarah. In his growly voice he said, "I have
wanted to meet you for a while now, Sarah."
"Then why didn't you?"
"I was asleep. I only woke up tonight. Now I am here."
"Why were you asleep?"
"Everyone needs to sleep sometime, Sarah. I sleep during the
Summer because Winter is my time."
"How come?"
"I am the Lord of the Animals, just as Rhiannon is the Lady of
the Earth. The Earth sleeps in the winter, and the plants do not
grow. Because the Earth sleeps, I must be awake to help the
people hunt animals for food. That is the way it was a long time
ago."
"When do you go back to sleep?"
"I will rest nine months from now. At your Midsummer celebration,
I will go to sleep. I will slumber for three months, until the
Autumn Equinox, when I will wake. Then the cycle starts all over
again."
"You look mean and scary. Are you the Devil?"
"No," he laughed. "I am not. A long time ago, some people made
their Devil look like me, but I am not evil.
"Sarah, understand this, Rhiannon and I are much like you. We
have good moods and bad moods. We Love, and are joyful about some
things, and get angry with others, just as you do. Just because
We don't have bodies like yours does not mean that we are
unfeeling."
"Why don't you have bodies?"
"But, we do. Our bodies are the plants and animals you see around
you. I am part of every creature that walks the Earth, and all
the people. Rhiannon and I are in you, Keith, your Daddy, and
your Mommy," he pointed to a dog, "That dog over there,
everything. I am the king of all creatures, like Rhiannon is the
queen of the Earth."
"But, you help people hunt and kill animals."
"Yes, I do. I help them kill the creatures they need to live. I
don't help the hunters kill to get a trophy on the wall. Those
who do not respect the cycle of life, I do not help. If there is
not a pressing need for a person to be hunting a deer, then I
will not help him to hunt it, and I will do everything in my
power to prevent the death of the animal."
"Do you help the other animals hunt each other?"
"Yes. The creatures of the Earth understand their role in Nature.
They understand that all of them will one-day die in order to let
other animals live. The sick and wounded and weak are the ones
that are usually killed first. Thus, the herd lives on and
improves with time. Some human hunters do not understand this. It
is they that take the best of the herd, leaving the old and sick
to continue to live, and because the herd must go on, few strong
animals are born and this eventually weakens all."
"Are all human hunters like that?"
"No, not all. Quite a number of human hunters are coming to
understand the cycle of nature. My main concern is to see that
all species continue to live. It hurts me when any species dies
completely."
"I heard about that in school. Is that called extinction?"
"Yes. It has happened many times over the course of history. It
has been recently that more than the proper numbers of
extinctions have occurred. Most of them have been at Human hands.
In the past, as with the Dinosaurs, they progressed as far as
they were able to and were actually harming the Earth, so their
time to die had come. Other species grew to fill the gaps left in
nature and their turn came."
"Are people harming the Earth?"
"Yes. In many ways, Humans are my greatest disappointment. But,
Humans are learning and adapting to more gentle ways of treating
the Earth, and so I have hope that they will escape extinction
themselves."
"What can I do?"
"Join with those who are attempting to save the Earth and
animals. Being Wiccan, you are already doing some things that are
necessary, but there are many things that can still be done."
"Do I have to stay Wiccan to do these things?"
"No, you don't. But you do have to remember this if you ever go
another Way. Remember to help, even if you do not want to follow
all of Our teachings. If you do this, I will never have cause to
be sad. I will always be happy that you, Sarah, have lived."
Finally the question that brought her there in the first place
came bursting out of her. "Why doesn't Keith have a Daddy?"
"Keith does have a father. His father is not necessarily a good
parent however. He could not understand Keith's Mommy's choices.
There are not many who do understand it."
"Does that mean that Keith's Mommy and Daddy got a divorce?"
"Yes. It was a mutual decision, and they talked to Keith about it
before they did anything. Keith's Daddy has his own lessons to
learn, and hopefully without the distraction of a wife and child
he is not ready for, he will learn them. He might even return to
them eventually."
"What can I do?"
"Help Keith and be his friend. Listen to him, talk to him about
our talks with Rhiannon and me. Teach him to be patient and
understanding with others. Let him be involved with your life."
"Can I introduce you to him?"
"Yes, I would like you to do that. I must tell you that many
people who are not Wiccan may not understand about Us. I do not
want you to lie about Rhiannon and I, but it may be better if you
are very careful about whom else you tell. Talk it over with your
parents, or Rhiannon or Myself first."
"Thank you Herne."
"You are welcome. I want you to be happy and free. Always
remember that We love you."
When she woke up, she remembered her dream. She felt good inside.
Her heart was full and everything was wonderful.
The next time Sarah saw Keith, she took him aside and told him
all about Herne and Rhiannon. She told him everything she learned
from them and said he could talk to them also.
That night, Keith slept over at Sarah's house. When they went to
sleep, they both went to the place where they could talk to the
Lord and Lady.
Herne Discussion
This chapter is a compliment to the chapter on Rhiannon. It is
separate from Rhiannon because They are not one dimensional Gods.
If I tried to combine both chapters into one, it would become too
confusing for the child.
Once again, I have made His description vague in order to
facilitate adaptation to your God.
Some questions for discussion with your child:
1. Who is Herne king of?
2. Why does Herne seem scary? Why not?
3. Are you scared of Herne? Why or why not?
4. When is Herne asleep? When is he awake?
5. What is extinction?
6. How does Herne help people?
7. What would cause Herne not to help you?
8. What else does Herne do?
9. Where is Herne?
10. What is Herne's body made from? Rhiannon's body?
11. What does Herne want to happen to the animals?
While extinction will be dealt with later, it is introduced here
to help the child begin thinking about the subject.
Some activities that may be appropriate for the topic are:
1. Make a poster-sized collage of Herne's children with your
child. There are many magazines that have pictures of animals in
them to cut out and glue to some poster board.
You may want to include pictures of any family pets. Encourage
your child to include some pictures of the family and of people.
Help them think of this on their own, but nudge them in the right
direction if needed.
Once the collage is completed, have the child hang it in their
room. It will remind them of the Lord whenever they see it. They
may even use this hanging as their representation of the Lord.
It may even be advisable to have them make a collage for the
Lady. You may want them to set up their own altar or shrine to
the Lord and Lady in their own room.
2. If you do not have any pets, you may want to think about
getting one now. This will teach the child responsibility as well
as giving them a companion while they grow up.
3. Go to the zoo. Many public zoos have activity programs for
children. Encourage them to think about what the animals feel.
Ask them what they would change if they were in charge of the
zoo.
4. Set up a bird of squirrel feeder. Many publications have plans
for designing these. Let them help you build and set the feeders
up when they are completed. If you can, it may be good to also
construct an observation station for your child.
5. Get books on zoology and animals. You may even want to
subscribe to any magazines that deal with animals. This will
teach them more about the creatures that share the Earth.
There are many other activities that could be included in this
list. Use your imagination and the child's interest in
determining what to do with your child.
I advise that in the activities listed here, the father take a
primary role in participation. Since Herne is male and the
Father, the participation of the father in the home bring the
connection home to the child even more strongly.
Talk to the Priest of you Coven with your child. Encourage them
to ask questions and make observations.
A topic was touched upon in the story, but not elaborated on. The
topic was divorce. While divorce may not be that common in your
Circle, it is prevalent in society. You may want to talk to your
child at this time about other couples who have had a divorce or,
if you have had one recently, your own. Explain the reasons
behind the hand-parting and discuss it with your child. Your own
judgment, as always, will determine if you talk about this with
your child to any further extent.
